| How to write a business plan |
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Put it simply, a business plan describe the future of your business. It can convey to potential investors of your business goals, or used to help you and your partners to understand your business better. A normal business plan will be about 20 pages long. If the business model is rather complex, you may need to prepare a 100 pages document to illustrate your business to investors and suppliers. Business plans may come in different format to suit different business models. Typically, a plan should consist of 3 main sections: a) Business Concept This is a summary of your business model, and how you will develop your business idea. There are so many business plans in the marketplace to attract investors. Nobody will have time to read your entire report. So, please make sure that others can have a good understanding of your business concept after reading this portion. b) Market Research and Analysis A good business plan should include how you will bring your product or services to the marketplace. Investors want to know, will there be any demand for your product? How are you going to differentiate yourself from your competitors, if any? A good analysis and understanding of your industry and the level of competition is needed before the launch of any businesses. c) Financial Analysis and Planning This section includes your projected profit and loss statement, as well as your balance sheet. If needed, you may need to work out a break even analysis. Investors often want to know how long is the ROI. You may engage an accountant to assist you. A more detailed plan may include individual sections illustrated below:
You may also download some samples of business plans from www.bplan.com.
Article by Byon Ong, Singapore Business Resources for Entrepreneurs January 2006 Visitors may use the article for marketing purpose, but please give credit to the author with a backlink included. |